癤?011 July 17th
Sunday Sermon at Yoido Full Gospel Church ??Seoul, Korea
Speaker: Senior Pastor Rev. Younghoon LEE
The Advance of Faith
(2 Ki 7:3-7)

A Christian's life is a life of faith. We are saved by faith, experience God's grace by faith through the Word of promise, our faith grows by practicing the Word, and we live an eternal life by believing in heaven. Today, I would like to share with you about how miracles occur when we advance with faith.

1. Israel surrounded by the enemy
Ben-Hadad, the king of the Arameans attacked Israel with his armies. He surrounded the city of Samaria, the capital, and setup blockades. As time went by, all the food in the city was gone. The people were so hungry that they began to take turns eating their own children. Likewise, we Christians may be besieged by the enemy of despair, however we must not be disappointed. We must be strong and courageous because the Omniscient and Almighty God will solve all our problems.

2. God, the problem solver
This kind of desperate circumstance came upon them because the entire nation, including the king, worshipped idols and did not believe in God. We must get rid of our unbelief. The prophet Elisha prophesied to them that God would provide them with food abundantly in a day. This seemed impossible from a human's viewpoint. Even one officer of the king shouted that he couldn't believe it. We have to confess with absolute positivity in times of despair, looking to the Lord. The God in whom we trust and serve is a provider. When we trust and depend on God and advance, He performs tremendous miracles.

3. The march of faith
Four lepers who stayed at the entrance of the city gate decided to go out to the armies of Arameans, thinking that they would die if they stayed at the entrance. Then, God caused their steps to sound like the steps of large armies marching towards the Aramean armies. So, the Aramean armies were terrified, fled, and abandoned their possessions and their food. The lepers turned back to their city and reported it. In this way, the prophecy of Elisha was fulfilled. Yet, the officer who spoke unbelieving and negative words was trampled on by the people in the gateway and died. The important thing is not the number of people but whether God is with us or not. Therefore, we must not listen to the world, but to God and march forward in faith.

We should keep advancing with absolute faith in the Word of promise.